


Grocery Run

by Minuete



Series: Advent Calendar Prompts [6]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Advent calendar prompt, Day 6, Domestication, Episode: s06e15 Arcadia, F/M, Is this considered fluff?, Rob and Laura Petrie, family outing, pre-Arcadia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 01:26:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16882992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minuete/pseuds/Minuete
Summary: Set Pre-Arcadia episode.  Rob and Laura go grocery shopping.





	Grocery Run

**Author's Note:**

> Taken from Tumblr only-txf-fanart's Philes Xmas Advent Calendar Day 6 Prompt: family outing
> 
> I was thisclose to drafting a completely different story full of angst with this prompt. You're welcome to the folks who love fluff.

“Whaddaya say we have our first family outing as a married couple, Laura? We might as well do our grocery shopping now before heading into The Falls Of Arcadia since the moving truck won’t arrive for the next hour.” Scully resists the urge to roll her eyes. She glances over at his profile looking like an Eddie Bauer model in the driver’s seat. How the hell is he able to pull off a pink polo complete with a sweater draped over his shoulders?

“Mulder, we’re in a minivan. I don’t see why we need to start using our undercover names.” She sighs as Mulder pulls into a Stater Bros. shopping center parking lot, the third cookie-cutter strip mall every 3 miles on Hwy 56 situated next to a WalMart and a Home Depot.

“We gotta keep up appearances, _Laura_. Might as well get used to the name.” Mulder shoots her a cheeky grin. He parks the minivan a few yards away from the grocery store, quickly unfastens his seat belt, and bolts out of the van to retrieve a shopping cart abandoned a couple parking spots away.

They enter the store with Scully leading way. She automatically starts walking around the perimeter of the store, filling the cart with fresh fruit and vegetables, deli items, dairy products, and juice. She can sense Mulder observing her as she mentally checks off the list of what she deemed are essentials in a well-stocked fridge.

“Mul—“ she starts, but Mulder gives her a pointed look. “ _Rob_ , what meals would you like to eat for the week?” She asks loud enough for passersby to hear. She moves closer to him and murmurs, “I highly doubt the people living there eat frozen dinners.”

“I eat whatever you cook, Honey Bunch,” he answers loud enough for people nearby to hear. She gives him a pointed look this time.

“You can’t be serious,” she mutters as she fake smiles at a suburban wife with two toddlers perched in their shopping cart, “I expect each of us to pull our weight, including meals. If I have it my way, we'll be eating salad the entire week.”

“That’s not the way to live, Laura. Okay, I can make a mean meat sauce and spaghetti, steak, and pan-fried pork chops.” Scully nods.

“I know how to make chicken cacciatore.” There’s a long pause as Mulder stares at her expectedly, and then realizes she wasn’t going to continue on with her sentence.

“Wait. What?! That’s all you know how to make?” Scully blushes.

“I helped prep in the kitchen growing up, but cooking was never really my interest. I thought you caught on whenever I bring leftovers from my mom after visiting her.” She can’t believe she has to explain herself. Mulder smiles in understanding.

“And I’m sure with our erratic schedules that home-cooked meals are a rarity. Alright, well- you can help me prep some sides in the kitchen then. We can make lasagna with the leftover meat sauce.”

“Since when did you know how to cook?”

“I learned some of Mom’s recipes in her recipe box after the casseroles from well-wishers stopped coming with whatever was stocked in the fridge and pantry.” Scully walks alongside the shopping cart as Mulder leads them through the second half of grocery shopping. Scully briefly separates from the cart to retrieve some bread, bagels, and condiments. She can’t help but smirk when Mulder presents her a 1-pound bag of grounded Starbucks coffee and coffee filters when she finds him.

“Nectar of the Breakfast Gods,” he says as she drops the items in her hands into the cart, “Okay. Now the fun stuff. Snacks!” He wheels the cart, making a beeline to the junk food aisle.

“How come I never see these stocked in your apartment?” she asks quietly, amazed at how much junk food he’s actually grabbing.

“Government’s spotting us on groceries, right?” He murmurs, receiving a light punch in the arm from Scully for his remark. They head over to the frozen aisles for dessert.

“Yuck, no! I’m not having soy ice cream or frozen yogurt!” When Scully stops and looks at the soy ice cream selection. “We’re getting the real stuff.”

“Well, aren’t you two an adorable couple,” the cashier comments as they check out. Scully plasters a fake smile on her face as she pulls out cash to pay. “Did you two just move into the area? I don’t recall seeing you before.”

“We’re in the process of moving into The Falls Of Arcadia,” Mulder answers placing an arm across Scully’s shoulders and pulling her in for a side hug.

“The Falls? Well, you two will fit right in! Have a nice day!” The cashier does a little wave with her fingers.

“Hey, hop on the cart. I’ll wheel you to the car,” Mulder says once they stepped outside of the store. He steps aside.

“What? No. That’s childish.” She shakes her head.

“Last chance! It’s not every day you get to hop onto a fully-loaded cart!” Scully feels the vibrations from the cart under her feet as Mulder whisks her across the parking lot. He picks up speed, rattling the cart even more.

“Not bad for our first family outing?” He asks against her left ear cutting through the noise from the cart as he draws it to a stop. Scully smiles. Maybe this assignment won’t be too bad.


End file.
